Review: Grey

Goodreads Synopsis: Christian Grey exercises control in all things; his world is neat, disciplined, and utterly empty – until the day that Anastasia Steele falls into his office, in a tangle of shapely limbs and tumbling brown hair. He tries to forget her, but instead is swept up in a storm of emotion he cannot comprehend and cannot resist. Unlike any woman he has known before, shy, unworldly Ana seems to see right through him – past the business prodigy and the penthouse lifestyle to Christian’s cold, wounded heart.

Will being with Ana dispel the horrors of his childhood that haunt Christian every night? Or will his dark sexual desires, his compulsion to control, and the self-loathing that fills his soul drive this girl away and destroy the fragile hope she offers him?

The Story

So. Here’s hoping this post doesn’t lose me any followers before I’ve actually managed to get into the review! First up, an explanation for why I chose to read this book. (I know, I shouldn’t have to justify my reading choices, but we’re all aware how anti-Grey the bookish community is, so bear with me!).

My love for reading dwindled when I was at University, and when I graduated in 2012, the world was going insane over Fifty Shades of Grey. I picked the books up, and devoured them within a few days. I distinctly remember hating Christian with a passion throughout the first book, but reading on regardless, and by the end of the series feeling very differently about him, and the books. I enjoyed the original series. I’ve said it before on this blog, and I’ll say it again – James is not about to win any literary awards for her writing abilities. However, I found the series to be compulsive reading. I understand the viewpoint of those who think it is purely an abusive relationship without merit, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy elements of the books when I first read them.

Interestingly, I made my sister read the books in 2012, and she too devoured them. She reread the first book before the release of the movie, and her opinions on it had changed somewhat. I haven’t yet gotten around to a reread (and to be honest, I’m not sure if I ever will), but it would be interesting to see what my take on them is now too, after blogging for a year, and consuming so many great books in the past two.

The Review

I had mixed feelings when I heard there was going to be a new Fifty Shades book written from the POV of Christian. Was it just me, or did it kind of come out of nowhere? One day I heard there was a new release, the next week it was on the shelves. Strange. From the get-go, this was going to go one of two ways, James’ writing was going to have improved (all the money she made from the first series surely could have afforded some writing lessons?), and this story would delve deeper into Christian’s past, into his psychology. Or, it would be a money-maker – a regurgitated story that offered little-to-no real insight into Christian. Unfortunately, it was the latter.

There is no discernible improvement in James’ writing. One of my biggest gripes with the original series was Ana’s subconscious doing “oh my” cartwheels all over the show. In Grey, Christian’s inner voice favours “hell” and “damn”. Possibly some not-so-subtle character insights there. It does seem as though James wants you to believe her writing has improved though, I lost count of the number of times “lascivious” appeared in the (very long) text.

This book would have benefited from going further back into Christian’s past, making the novel more about him, and his issues, rather than simply going over the same story we get in Fifty Shades of Grey, albeit from Christian’s POV. It felt lacklustre. How often are different POV releases a success? Not often. For fans of the series, Christian was an enigma, and that was a major factor in his sex appeal. With Grey, James has stripped Christian of his confidence, and of his mystique. We’ve gotten a glimpse into the mind of the man, and it’s rather anti-climatic.

While I appreciate the views that these books glorify abusive relationships, I have to say I was never particularly in that camp, which made it all the more disappointing during certain sections of this book when it was clear James was directly addressing those concerned. The actual word “consent” popped up much more frequently in this text than in any of the previous books. Where before consent was supposedly implied, in Grey James has gone out of her way to make it explicit. Ironically, those who think Fifty Shades is about an abusive relationship will likely never read Grey to know that James has addressed those concerns (or care for that matter), and those who are fans of the series will definitely feel that those lines are out of sync with the rest of the writing. That they have been slotted in on purpose. It begs the question – who exactly was Grey written for? The fans, or the critics?

The end of Grey most definitely indicates that Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed are both going to be released from Christian’s POV. It’s at this stage, Dear Book Geek, where I will be bowing out of the ring and not continuing with the series. It’s gotten to the point where I’m almost offended James is offering this fare in exchange for my hard-earned cash (the last I heard she’d made around £95 million from this series). That, and the fact she has now out-sold J K Rowling in terms of book sales just stings. Sorry, Christian but Harry’s my number one.

22 Responses

I also enjoyed reading the Fifty Shades of Grey books and was really hoping that Grey would have delved further into Christian’s pschye rather than just a regurg of Fifty Shades. I think it would have been so interesting if she had gone back to his troubled teen years and his intro to BDSM with Mrs. Robinson. Just about every review I’ve seen has really made me regret buying the book and I haven’t even gotten around to reading it yet.

I think James had an opportunity here to delve so much deeper into the nature of Christian, into his past, his previous submissive relationships, etc. And now it kind of feels like a lost opportunity. Christian comes across as arrogant, childish, and most definitely not as intelligent as I would have expected for a multi-millionaire entrepreneur. James pays lip-service to his profession with the odd business meeting here and there, but nothing of any substance to suggest how he became so successful. There wasn’t enough meat on the bones of this story. I know of one other big Christian fan who preordered the eBook and hasn’t read it yet, and has now lost interest altogether. If it is at all possible, I think Grey has actually damaged the series more than ever. James and stuck a big hole in her ship, and now I wonder how she’s going to keep it afloat. She should have left well alone. R x

Yep. That STINGS, Alex. I actually enjoyed the original series when I first read it, but the fact it’s out-sold my precious J K. That’s just painful. Having dual POV when telling a story is common in YA and NA contemporaries, particularly romances, and I LOVE that. But some authors write an entire book from one POV and then release the same story from the other POV. This doesn’t work so well, because the story is so regurgitated. With dual POV, each chapter in the alternate POV helps move the story along while offering insights into each characters’ thoughts at the time the story is happening. Seperate POV novels are rarely as well received as the original. R x

Thanks for reading this, because I didn’t want to. You’re brave!
I read the series in 2012 and agree with you. Awful writing, but easy to read and fun. Tried to reread it early this year and just couldn’t do it. I was too angry at Christian and could see way too much of my last relationship, (which was emotionally abusive) in it.
I thought I had somehow missed the lead up by being so focused on uni work! Glad I’m not alone 😛
I’ve read a few excerpts and yahhhh…. all that money should have been enough to get her some writing lessons. She really has no idea and it makes me sad for the people who can write well who don’t get noticed because they’re not big… yet this woman gets billions of dollars for a lacklustere product that is literally a rehash of her last mediocre offering. Go figure.

Lol – I’m really relieved at the comments actually, I was dreading posting this! I thought I was coming at it from a different perspective than a lot of book bloggers, because I didn’t really bash the original series, so I was reading this as a fan. And I didn’t enjoy it, so that says a lot.

Also, thank you for being brave enough to share that you enjoyed the original series too. Not only have my reading tastes evolved over the past 3-4 years, but I have evolved too, for lack of a better word. I hate to admit it, but when I first read these books I’d just come out of a bad relationship, and my views on love, self-confidence and self-worth were polar opposites of how I think now. I think if I were to reread the books, they’d not sit as comfortable with me now as they did then. I did enjoy the dramatic elements though – the stalker (Leila, not Christian – lol), the evolution of their relationship (because contrary to popular belief, that did actually happen), and particularly the scene where Christian submits to Ana because he literally doesn’t know what else to do to show her what she means to him other than to submit to her. I don’t know if I want to leave it well alone and remember it with the positive spin it had for me then, or if I want to tackle them again… Decisions, decisions…

That’s definitely why this new series has irked me so much, I’ve been introduced to so many amazing books over the past two years that get no where near the attention this received, and that sucks. That, and James is stuck between a rock and a hard place. I would have loved for her to branch out and show she isn’t a one trick pony – but I suppose no matter what she did she was going to be hit with a big stick of criticism. It just would have been nice for her to have developed her writing and come out with something new. But I guess when you’re raking it in, who is the one laughing? R x

It’s so suspicious, right? Especially when I read that she wants to make the second and third movie more from Christian’s perspective, and it references in the end of this book that she is now the producer and her hubby the script writer – it all felt like some sort of tie-in promotional ploy to get that point out there. We get it woman, chill. I actually thought the movie did a pretty good job considering, and I know some Grey haters who didn’t find it awful either (that inner monologue has a lot to answer for in the books). I just hope James doesn’t ruin the progress the first movie made by being too close to the story and ruining the movies. Don’t be sorry! I wasn’t expecting a lot from it to be honest, different POV novels of the same story rarely work. The only time I’ve found it to be remotely effective is with Colleen Hoover, and that’s because she includes other inside elements, backstory information etc. that set it apart. But even then, I don’t usually enjoy it just as much as the original. R x

I’ve been too afraid to check out the hashtag, because apparently it was HARSH, but I did see a post about it on Buzzfeed that had a lot of tweets included in it, apparently some of the kinder ones… Eek? I’m sure she’s crying into her £95 million as we speak… softens the blow I’m sure. I’m going to go look at it out of curiosity… R x

I tried to read this book, but I just couldn’t. I don’t like being in Christian’s head. I want to keep his mind and feelings a mystery. Also, because I have no time to re-read a book that I’ve read years ago, and let’s be honest here, this is Fifty Shades of Grey in his POV. So basically, the same thing. Lol.

You read and relatively enjoyed the first three? Or is my memory playing up on me??

YES! That’s exactly it. The mystique! It’s like pulling the curtain away in the Wizard of Oz and realising reality isn’t as good as the illusion. For as long as no one knew Christian, we could think all sorts of redeeming things about him (or in my mind that he’s incredibly intelligent), but Grey goes and ruins that. The fact James includes an inner monologue again (OK, and the odd flashback) really shows her writing hasn’t developed at all. It was… formulaic. R x

Brilliant review of this book! 🙂 At least that means I don’t have to read it to find out just how bad it is, you’ve done it for me. This sounds truly awful to me. I hate when authors do books from another characters POV but don’t really add anything new to the story. It just feels lazy and like a way to make money. And it’s not like the woman needs it.

I agree that the book came out of nowhere. I was pretty surprised, and to know that she was writing it to address critics (who’ll never read it, like you said) is really disappointing. AND that it’s just the same book with no new insight, ugh. NO THANKS. I was originally excited to read it, but that was because I had hoped it would be different. I guess no one can write the male POV like CoHo (cause that’s the standard I compare everything to, LOL). I’m sorry this was such a bust for you. I really don’t think I’m going to read it now. My Fifty Shades obsession has sadly come to a screeching halt.

I don’t know if that’s why she wrote it, but while I was reading it that was very much the impression that I got. The word “consent” was used a couple of times, where I don’t remember it being part of the original conversation in Book 1, and there were a few other references to being an adult, and being able to make your own decisions. Although Grey essentially didn’t have a “voice” in the original series, now that James has given him one, I don’t like it. The Grey we could all create in our imaginations (whatever form he took) has been wiped out by the “official” version of him, and the official version of him is poo. I feel the dawn of a new era too. Not everyone will say this, because she has so many haters, but it’s like she went too far and ruined a good thing. She should have took her 95 mil and left well alone! R x

I have pretty much the same relationship with her book as you do. I know everyone hates them, but I just like binge read them all. I was also excited for Grey for the exact same reasons as you, and now I feel just as disappointed as you do because I KNEW it was going to be the same exact story but with some different wording. And this is only going to ruin those that did like Christian, because the whole point to him was the mystery. Now we know all of his mundane boring life and that literally takes away one of the only exciting pieces of the series.

It bothers me that she’s dropping big words and “consent” all over the place. You would honestly think that after all this time her writing could’ve at least gotten a little better but nope. Let’s just shove these words in people’s faces and hopefully they form the opinion I want them to…ugh.

I binge read them and even pushed them on people when I first read them in 2012, but I have to say I’m petrified to reread them, because I’ve read so much since I started blogging, and I’ve been exposed to so many new (amazing) writing styles, that I think the initial love I had for them won’t be there any more. I have to say too, I’ve become much more aware of feminism, and of my stance on feminism and self-worth (I had literally just come out of a bad relationship when I first read these, so I wonder how that impacted my mindset), that I am curious as to whether I will read into these completely differently now. I’m not the same person I was then, you know?

The elements of the books that I did like though (the actual romance storyline, which I do believe is in there! The deep emotional and psychological issues Grey faces, and the one scene that stood out to me where he submits to Ana as the only way he knows to show her what she means to him), all of those elements have been… diluted for me, by getting this insight into Grey. It’s like I felt I could defend him when he was the Grey I had in my head, but with this book James has stripped him back and basically shows that he is the egotistical, self-loving ass that a lot of people said he was. I prefer my deep, dark and troubled Grey, intelligent, in control. This Grey isn’t those things.

I did hope she would at least attempt to better her writing for this book. While I enjoyed the first series, I was never under the illusion that James was a great, or even good writer, I just found the story compulsive. It’s sad that this has become the earner it has, and has catapulted James the way it has, without resulting in any noticeable improvement. I was actually meaning to pick up the first book and compare it with this one, because I definitely don’t remember the word “consent” being used explicitly, and I think doing so in this book will have/has had the opposite effect James intended.

Sometimes, things are a success, and sometimes they’re better left that way. R x

I know exactly what you mean about not being the same person. I’ve actually read them twice – once quite a few years ago when, like you, I was in a bad relationship, and then now. It’s weird how your life impacts your reading so much.